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I don't know why these guys weren't seeing that it was likely for the better if I just ended things with Calla. Sure, I just told her that I think I loved her, but she didn't say it back. It also seems like she's not sure I'm the one, so she's having a hard time opening up. Even if you had the trauma of your parents' divorce, wouldn't you open up when you find the right person?
She's still young. She'll recover. And if I don't make it back for some reason, then she'll already be free to set her sights on some younger, more suitable guy. She's made cracks about my age, which I always find there's some truth behind everything someone says. Even jokes.
My mind is made up and as much as I know these guys are looking out for me, they can't understand this pressure I'm under. I want Calla to be happy. I'm just not sure she thinks I'm that guy.
Hugo broke us all out of the awkward silence. "We all know that Dom will figure it out in his own way."
Austin started humming and then sung in a high falsetto voice, "Floppy Dick is here to staaaaay."
The gang started laughing, alleviating the tension, but shit, he might be right.
Chapter 26
Calla
Igot back from the office in the late afternoon on Friday. I stopped by the Farmer's Market along the Charles River on my way home. It was such a beautiful setting. I counted myself very lucky to be living here.
The office had been busy today, and we all were happy with our tasks. I felt like I was really building my knowledge and contributing. I even had things to say at the weekly Ops Meeting now instead of just sitting there, listening. I was settling in just fine and a lot of it had to do with my close relationship with Dominic, but also the camaraderie among the staff. All the doctor-owners were always so nice to me, showing their appreciation for what I had taken on.
So, yeah, life felt pretty good.
Dom and I had lunch together today, and he told me he had a bit of work to catch up on tonight, so I thought it was a good day to spend some time with me. When I thought about all the time I was spending out of the house, I realized that I could probably do a little housework, load up the fridge, clean the kitchen, tidy up my room, and it would go a long way to creating a nice home environment. It was good to just be alone, too. I know Dominic and I enjoyed being together, but we also enjoyed our alone time.
Running my fingers over the smooth, almost waxy skin of the colored peppers just felt divine. I loved to rub the various kinds of mint between my fingers and smell the beautiful aromas. I loved all the treasures I found at the market and knew it was worth the extra cost compared to the box stores. My job at the clinic paid me enough for this weekly treat, and the cost made me mindful of using everything I bought. No more throwing out dead, moldy vegetables at the end of the week.
Cassie loved a stir-fry, so I loved loading up with a rainbow of vegetables. Stir-frys were so easy to throw together, even after a hard day at the office. And she had been doing most of the suppers lately, as sometimes I would catch supper out with Dom.
Dom.
We had somehow settled into a comfortable relationship. He hadn't bothered me about opening up further to him lately. In fact, now that I think about it, he's grown a little quiet about all of that. He was right; our physical relationship was out of this world hot, and he seemed to be accepting of my desire to hold a little bit of my myself back.
Honestly, maybe I wouldn't mind opening up to him now, but I guess I was happy to not have to deal with it at the moment. Dom seemed happy enough, and I was happy just working through my issues.
Or was I? I wasn't sure if I was just avoiding dealing with these things and just telling myself I needed more time when, in fact, I wasn't doing any of the work.
I crinkled my nose in indecision. I was so confusing. Even to me.
As I got back to my apartment, I was climbing the stairs when I crossed paths with Mr. Kruger. It had been a while since I had last seen him, but of course, he was going out for his weekly date.
"Hello, Mr. Kruger."
He grunted and tipped his hat.
He stopped in front of me. "What's new?" he asked in his gruff voice.
"Oh, not much. Working a lot. I just went to the Farmer's Market. Would you like an apple?" I reached in my bag to offer him a beautiful honeycrisp apple. He took it and immediately crunched into it. The juice clung to a few of his whiskers.
"Mmm," he grunted again. "That's a good one. Danke."
"You're welcome. Are you off for your sausage night?"
"Of course! I'm a man of habit. The day you don't see me going out on Friday to see Gerda is the day you'd better get the police to come do a health check. This old bag of bones isn't going to last forever, you know. I have to keep up my appearances."
I laughed, but inside it also felt a little sad.
"I hope you have a wonderful evening, Mr. Kruger."
"What about you? What's a young lady like you going to do on a Friday night?" He took another big crunch out of the apple.
